Posted by Michael Wonder on 18 Mar 2018
Former FDA commissioners say right-to-try bills could endanger ‘vulnerable patients’
18 March 2018 - Four former commissioners of the FDA are expressing opposition to congressional “right to try” legislation, just as Republican House leaders prepare to bring a bill up for another vote a week after it failed to pass.
The legislation is designed to allow seriously ill patients to bypass the FDA to get access to experimental treatments. The former agency commissioners, in a joint statement provided to The Washington Post, criticize both House and Senate proposals.
“There is no evidence that either bill would meaningfully improve access for patients, but both would remove the FDA from the process and create a dangerous precedent that would erode protections for vulnerable patients,” they say.
